This Year's Love
by YoungandNaiveStill
Summary: The ten year evolution of a relationship between two friends, starting from when they first met, as told in a series of snippets and life events occurring on the same day in June each year. Auslly. Loosely based on the novel, One Day.
1. better together

A/N: Here's my next story, it's a multichapter Auslly story based off the novel (and movie starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturges) One Day by David Nicholls. This is a story of two friends and the evolution of their relationship over a ten year period of time, set on the same day of each year. This first chapter takes place back when it all started, and we go from there. Enjoy! Let me know if you think it's worth me continuing (that means I want you to review) ;). I won't be able to update as regularly as I did with the other stories as this is a busy time at work, so really your feedback will prod me along.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, not the show, not the book, not the characters, not the songs. This story is loosely based on the novel One Day, by David Nicholls. The title of the story is from David Gray's song, This Year's Love.

Rating: T for the potential for language in future chapters

* * *

**This Year's Love**

_1: better together_

_Hey, I will always stay  
By your side forever  
Cause we're better together  
Hey, there's no other way  
We'll make it through whatever  
Cause we're better together_

_-Better Together, "Austin Moon"_

June 28, 2011

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Her alarm screeched as she pawed around blindly to hit the snooze. She knocked the clock off her nightstand, causing a loud clatter on the ground. Ugh. Perfect. Usually, she would be up naturally before the alarm, but she had pulled an all nighter the night previous to write a new song so she was feeling a lot more tired than usual. Oh and yeah, she just wanted to bury herself in her pillows and blankets today and for the rest of her life because of the events of the previous 24 hours. She hid her head under her pillow and screamed! That was better, now she could face this brand new day. She sighed and sat up, her hair in brambles, her cheek stained with dried saliva. Today was already getting off to a great start.

The good news was that she was waking up an internet celebrity.

The bad news was that it was because she had completely, utterly destroyed the Helen Show's set on national television.

And it was all because of Austin Monica Moon.

She flopped back onto her mattress, thinking about the events of the past few days. Before they met, Ally Dawson had been just a simple girl who loved school, her family, her best friend Trish and music. She worked in her father's music store, Sonic Boom, dreaming of a life as a performer, writing songs in her spare time. She was a good kid, she was nice to people and animals, so she didn't understand why life hated her so much to make her such a farce. Her life had been so peaceful before Austin came charging in like a bull in her music shop. If he hadn't come into the store and started obnoxiously playing the drums, maybe she would have been saved from the worst embarrassment of her life. She should've just ignored him. Except that he was using corndogs and that was just gross. And there was no eating in the store. There was no way she could ignore him!

Anyway, he still probably would've stolen her song and become an overnight internet sensation, and then come to her for songwriting help, so it was inevitable. In some sick twist of destiny, they were brought together. Life sure loved to play cruel jokes on her.

When she had prayed for some excitement to happen this summer, this wasn't exactly what she had in mind. He was definitely not what she had bargained.

Be careful what you wish for.

Of course Austin had lied and told Helen that he could write another song and perform it. And of course he had come to her for help. And so she had stayed up all night with him, trying to write a song to help him seem creditable to his newfound fans. Somehow they did it, but instead of performing this new song, he had used his appearance as a platform to get her over her stage fright. And that didn't go very well. All his appearance did was lead her to make a fool of herself in front of millions of people. And now she felt like crap.

She was as much to blame though, she let him talk her into helping him. What was she thinking when she agreed to be his songwriting partner? She couldn't even stand the kid! He was irresponsible, silly and possibly not the sharpest tool in the shed. They were completely different, how was this going to work? She would probably end up doing all the work so that he could have all the accolades. How was that fair?

Ally immediately felt bad for thinking that. It wasn't Austin's intention to make a fool of her. He meant well. He wasn't that bad; she was just still bitter. Austin was just very opposite to her, in almost every way. But, he was sort of fun, and he had bought all that stuff for the practice room as penance for his actions, which was really generous. And he brought her a lot of pickles, so at least she knew he had paid a little attention. He had given her due credit on the Helen Show for her song, and he tried to cure her of her stage fright. At least his heart was in the right place, despite his efforts being a huge failure. Plus there was the added benefit of him being not so bad to look at. When their hands touched on the piano, she felt a little tingle down her spine, and she was pretty sure he felt something, too. But she would never tell him that. He didn't need his ego to be more inflated. He had his millions of adoring online followers for that.

She couldn't believe how quickly he had become popular, and how the fans latched onto him. They knew more about him than she did! All she knew was that he liked cheerleaders and pancakes. And that info she learned from his dumb doll. She let out an exasperated groan. Maybe she should just call him and tell him she changed her mind. She wrote these songs for herself anyway, they weren't meant to be shared. Somehow a chunk of her hair found its way into her mouth and she chewed on it nervously. What was she going to do?

"Oh great, you're up!" he burst through her bedroom door as if on cue.

"EEEEPPPP!" she squealed, covering herself with her comforter, scooting away and further distancing herself from him. "AUSTIN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY BEDROOM?"

He held out his hands in defense. "Whoa, calm down! I'm here to work on songs."

"Again, what are you doing in my house, Austin?" she questioned, looking around for a blunt object to grab, just in case he was going to attack her.

"Your dad let me in."

She let her defenses down a little bit. "Okay, so he and I will have to talk about that. It's like 8 AM on a Saturday. Shouldn't you be sleeping? We were up all night a day ago!"

"I couldn't sleep, I'm too excited. Let's start!" he suggested enthusiastically.

"Umm, how about I get up and shower and do normal morning things first?"

His face fell. "I thought we could just punch out a song this morning."

"Austin, songwriting doesn't just happen automatically. I can't just churn them out." She was about to add that she didn't think it was a good idea to work together, but he looked so hopeful and excited. She didn't want to crush him, and since she had crippling stage fright, at least people would get to hear her songs through him.

"Don't you just write some melodies and words in this book?" he asked, picking up her notebook from her desk.

"Don't. Touch. My. Book," she growled. She grabbed her robe and tied it snuggly around her waist. She still felt a little weird being with Austin in her bedroom, but clearly it didn't register to him in the slightest that the situation was weird.

He dropped it. "Okay, okay, but when can we start?"

"Austin, I don't know about this..."

He didn't usually pick up on signals, but even he could hear the hesitation in her voice. "Ally! I need you! We make a great team! Please, you can't give up on us!"

"Us? Austin, we barely know each other, and we're so different. I mean, what if it was all a fluke? A one time thing? You know what they say about lightning."

"You should try to minimize your height and contact to the ground?"

She gave him a perplexed look, "Umm, yes, but I mean, it doesn't strike twice!"

"It has struck twice, you've written two awesome songs for me. And, didn't you have fun last night? That has to count for something..." he pointed out.

"It was okay," she replied wryly, letting a smile creep out.

"Well I thought it was incredible, writing with you. And it was amazing getting to perform your song, so that people could hear how talented of a writer you are. I really need you, Ally. I can't do this without your help. We're a team, I'm nothing without you."

She blushed at his compliment. "That's not true."

She had always been the girl that lived in the shadows, content to let others have the spotlight. She was always overlooked by everyone, but working with Austin had given her the opportunity to get her voice out there, even if it wasn't her own voice singing. The way people responded to the music felt so good, she wanted to keep doing this for as long as she could and maybe Austin was her ticket to do so.

"We were meant to be partners, I know it. You're pickles and I'm pancakes and I know it doesn't make sense, but somehow it works. We're opposites, but that's what makes us complimentary to each other. You have to take a chance, you wrote that yourself."

Surprisingly, he did make sense. "I'm glad you're so confident, but I just don't think it's that great of an idea. I'm already so busy with school, Sonic Boom, my cloud watchers club, book club, organization club..."

"Did you say Cloud Watchers club? There's a club for that?" he laughed as she glared at him. "I mean...cool. Come on, Ally, we have a real chance here to make it in the music business. This is the dream that we both have! We can prove to everyone that we can do this, that it's not a waste of time. And I'm sorry I stole your song, I swear I didn't mean to do that. I was just so excited because it was so good. I promise you, if you give this a chance, we'll do this together, every step of the way. Because we're partners."

She internally swooned as he stood there looking optimistic. No one had ever said anything like that to her ever. No boy had ever said anything like that, and it was a little disconcerting that all it took were some words to make her insides feel like putty at the hands of a practical stranger. But she knew that he wasn't just some random guy. He was Austin, and she was Ally and they were destined somehow to be in each other's lives. Even though she wished she was more confident about the situation, she couldn't deny that they had at least some chemistry.

He nudged, "Well, what are you thinking?"

She relented, "Okay. Why don't you meet me at Sonic Boom later and we can try to work on things there."

"YES! With your help, there's no limit to what we can do, Ally."

"Yeah, you'll be famous in no time, I'm sure, Austin." She hoped she wasn't going to regret this decision.

"Well, I'll never get as many hits as your video, but that can be our goal, right?" he chuckled.

"How many hits am I up to?" she groaned, her head in her hands.

"Almost 2 million views. You're the real star, Ally," he smirked.

She rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Austin. Thanks a lot. Now, can I get up and shower and do my normal morning things?"

"Yeah, sorry for barging in."

"It's okay. See you at Sonic Boom later, Austin. Give me like an hour?"

"Okay, sounds like a plan," he turned to leave her room, but doubled back. "Hey Ally?"

"Yeah, Austin?"

"Thanks for agreeing to work with me. You're so talented, and I'm so happy we're partners."

He was so earnest, she wanted to just give him a huge hug. But she was in her pajamas and he was still practically a stranger, so that would be awkward. She stuck out her hand as he went in for a hug. They both stopped, and switched to the others position, chuckling at their foible. He pulled her in for a tight hug, just about squeezing the life out of her. He was a good hugger, and she could get used to that.

"I really do think we're better together."

Better together? Hmm, that gave her an idea. She had to write that down before she forgot it. She nodded, "Me too, Austin. Me too."

* * *

A/N: so, does it seem interesting so far? Should I continue?


	2. what we have is never ending

A/N: So here's the next chapter, takes place around Partners and Parachutes, one year later. I tried to really write from 16-year-old Ally's perspective, with the first kiss and obsessing and over thinking things like all girls do, but it's been awhile, so bear with me.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, not the show, not the book, not the characters, not the songs. This story is loosely based on the novel One Day, by David Nicholls. The title of the story is from David Gray's song, This Year's Love.

Rating: T for the potential for language in future chapters

* * *

**this year's love**

2: what we have is never ending

_I think about you, every morning when I open my eyes_  
_I think about you, every evening when I turn out the lights_  
_I think about you, every moment every day of of my life_  
_You're on my mind, all the time, it's true_

_-I think about you, "Austin Moon"_

June 28, 2012

She walked into the practice room, immediately starting to pace back and forth. She sat down at the piano bench, but then she jumped up again. She just couldn't keep still, there was too much clouding her thoughts.

Even though she talked about it at length with her mother and Trish the other day, she still couldn't get Austin off her mind. Not matter what she told herself and told everyone else, she just wasn't over it. From the moment she woke up to the moment she hit the pillow again, he was always in her thoughts.

She and Austin kissed.

It was her first kiss. And it was with Austin.

This. Was. Huge.

The kiss was incredible, amazing, fantastic, better than anything she had ever imagined. And she had imagined it…a lot of times up to that point. _That_ was a little embarrassing, the fact that she had thought about kissing her best friend on so many occasions, but she just wished and hoped her first would be from him.

And when her dream finally came true, it felt so right, so special. He was so gentle and he smelled so good, and his lips were so soft. He was just…everything. She saw fireworks and rainbows and ponies and it was the best thing that had ever happened to her. It was perfect…magical, even.

Well, almost perfect. What should have been the most magical moment of her life was abruptly interrupted when Kira had burst in and accepted Austin's offer to be his girlfriend.

It felt like a slap in the face. Kira Starr was the daughter of the owner of Austin's record label, and she was gorgeous! Ally couldn't compete with that. She hadn't even known that Austin had asked Kira to go out with him, which made it even worse! Ally was already not fond of surprises, but this one took the cake.

Maybe she should have had a clue when she overheard his conversation with Dez at school the other day, but still, she felt something between Austin and her that couldn't be ignored. She thought those feelings were going to supersede any that he may have had for Kira, but apparently she had read all the signals wrong, and he liked Kira way more than he liked her. How could she have even thought that she and Austin could be a thing?

She picked up the card that had come with flowers Austin had given her for writing him his latest hit. _There's no way I could make it without you. _

They were partners, so close and intertwined in each other's lives for the past year. That's how she had thought something could happen. It was heartbreaking to think that nothing ever would.

He had told her he wanted to be with her, even after the fact. She wanted to believe that his feelings for her were real, that he was laying his heart out there, but honestly, she was still hurt. She was getting all kinds of mixed signals from him and she didn't know what to do. No matter what he said, the fact was that he was still with Kira, and she wasn't going to be that girl to interfere with someone else's relationship. It was up to Austin now, if he really cared about her, he had to choose. Ally wasn't going to interfere. She really wanted to believe what she told him, that they should just stay friends and pretend it never happened. That it really was better that way, less messy. It would take time, but she would get to the point where that might be true.

For now she would play it off. So they kissed, big deal. It was in the heat of the moment, she was still flying high from her adrenaline rush from performing. She could get over it. Right?

She sighed. She was disappointed, but no one ever said love was easy. She didn't want things to change between them, and she could already feel the tide turn. They'd had that awkward conversation at mini's, and it was clear that he was confused. But so was she! She'd been on the raw end of the deal, having to watch Kira launch herself into his arms. And now she had seen the two twice in the mall, Kira fawning all over him each time. Ugh, it would just be better if she never saw him again. It would be hard to continue to be partners if that were the case though.

Darn her for being so understanding and practical. She would suppress her feelings because she didn't want to hurt Austin's career. They were on a roll with the music thing, and neither wanted to disrupt that. Even if Austin wanted to be with her, he couldn't break up with his boss's daughter. That would be a fatal career move.

At least she had the fact that she had just performed on stage the other night, furthering her career prospects. She was over her stage fright, which was a giant leap for her. So, she should focus on the positives. She should focus on herself for once. Everyone was right, she had a lot to celebrate.

Too bad, she had to do it alone.

For the past year, she had put Austin's career on the front burner, while taking a backseat. Maybe it was time to step out of his shadows. It was the perfect opportunity to separate herself from him now that there was this weirdness between them. She'd tell him tonight at the party her parents were throwing. It was going to be hard, but he would understand. He would be supportive of her career as she had been for him, she hoped.

She sat down at the piano and tapped at random keys. The random notes soon transformed into a basic melody and then a song took a life of its own. She closed her eyes, feeling the music emanate from her sad heart. Still all she could think about was Austin. She wondered if he was thinking of her.

She scribbled verses of the new song into her book, smiling at the organic nature of the process. Sometimes it was easy. Well, it was easy when she had inspiration, happy or sad. Today it was sad.

"Ally! Can you come down here and watch the front for a second?" her dad yelled up from the showroom.

She placed Austin's card as a placeholder in her book. She was proud of this song, and it would be all hers.

Austin really messed up things this time.

He was an idiot.

He just _had_ to show Ally how much he cared about her. He should have done something simple, like write her an email or a note. That probably would have been as affective. But he had screwed things up so royally up to this point, that he believed his gaffe could only be solved with a huge gesture. Boy was he wrong.

But he wanted to be with her, not Kira, and he was desperate to show her that. He just could not believe the timing of things. He generally felt pretty lucky, but lately it seemed his good fortune had run out.

He only had himself to blame. He had been scared out of his mind when he realized his feelings for Ally, and that's when all the insecurities surfaced. How would this affect their song writing? Did she feel the same way? How would this affect their friendship? What if it didn't work? What if she _was_ an alien from another dimension?

Instead of accepting his feelings, he had to try and suppress them, try to make himself feel something more for Kira. He liked Kira, no doubt, but not the way he liked Ally. Ally was his partner, he needed her. And in his defense, Kira had seemed hesitant to take him back, or else he wouldn't have kissed Ally.

He kissed Ally.

And it was incredible. It was everything he imagined it to be. She was warm and soft and cute, and the way her cheeks blushed and her eyes sparkled was something he wouldn't ever forget. There was something so sweet, so innocent about their kiss. There were no other intentions, there was no pressure to do more, it was just them and it was enough.

He also wouldn't forget the betrayed and hurt look on her face when Kira showed up and agreed to be his girlfriend. Again, terrible timing on the universe's part. He had acted hastily, asking Kira out. Hadn't thought about the aftermath, clearly. He didn't want to hurt either of them, but it looked like he wasn't going to be able to do that.

But, he had made up his mind this time. Ally was the girl for him.

He'd finally figured out a way to let Kira down gently, by being completely honest with her. This was a new concept for him. It had been brutal hearing her spew expletives at him as he broke up with her, but it was what had to be done. Hopefully she didn't hate him too much, and hopefully she meant what she said about trying to be friends since he still had to work with her dad. Kira was a good person, she wasn't vengeful, at least he prayed she wasn't.

Ally on the other hand still was not such a big Austin fan. She was barely speaking to him, upset that the latest issue of _Cheetah Beat_ announced him and Kira as the hot couple of the moment. She had straight up turned him down when he asked her to work on music after school, and that utter feeling of rejection and despair was what led him to agree to enact Dez's crazy plan to catch her attention. Deep down, he knew better than to listen to Dez, but this was a last ditch effort.

And catch her attention it did. How could a piano falling from the sky and smashing into smithereens not catch anyone's attention? It just wasn't in the way he had planned. The second look on her face of disappointment and sadness was too much for him to bear. Now she probably hated him for ruining her piano and her party. This was not a well thought out plan. They never were. This was the last time he would ever go along with one of Dez's crazy schemes. He was sure this was the last time he would get a chance with Ally.

He wanted to curl up into a ball and die, but instead he hid in the practice room, his safe place. It was times like these he wished he could actually write songs instead of needing her to do that for him because he had so many emotions right now. He plucked at the keys of the piano, feeling glum and sorry for himself when he saw the open songbook.

"Don't touch my book." Her voice rang in his ears as Dez walked into the room. He still touched it anyway, and he was glad he did because that's where he found the card from the flowers he sent her. He ran his fingers over the slightly raised type on the card.

_There's no way I could make it without you._

He peeked at the bookmarked page. There were hastily written words in Ally's messy scrawl all over the page and as he read the lyrics, he knew those verses were about him. Ally still cared about him! No matter what she said, she still cared about him and that thought alone launched a thousand ships of hope in his heart.

Even though he had a full conversation with Dez about this epiphany, he couldn't think of anything but what he was going to do now. What he needed to do for Ally.

She sat on the bench inside Sonic Boom, picking out pieces of piano from the slice of cake Trish had brought her. Her party had turned into a disaster. Austin, in his infinite wisdom, had tried to surprise her with a grand gesture, which resulted into her piano falling from the sky and smashing into a million pieces. So that was that. When she got the chance, she would pull him aside and tell him that she thought it would be best for them to go their separate ways.

She heard the strum of a guitar and turned to look up towards the practice room. Austin stood at the top of the stairs, playing that guitar and her heart stopped. It was her song. It was not lost upon her that he was stealing another one, but this time she didn't care. The lyrics didn't even register to her, all she could see was the sheer intensity on his face. He meant every word that was uttered from his lips, as she meant every word when she had written it on the page.

And in that moment, nothing existed but the two of them. She wished she could remember it forever, but things went so fast, and suddenly his arms were around her, his Austin scent enveloping her as she buried her face in his shoulder. She vaguely recalled flashes going off, her parents looking proud and Dez and Trish beaming. And the worst thing was pulling away from him, knowing that she couldn't have that moment for the first time again.

But the look in his eyes was enough.

She understood what it meant when people claimed that a look could make them weak. In a look, she understood everything he wanted to say, but didn't have the words to sum it up.

He would try anyway.

"Ally, I'm sorry for everything that happened. I've wanted to be with you this whole time, I just was afraid that you didn't feel the same way, and I didn't want to mess this up because you're more than a friend or a partner, I don't know how to explain it, but you're so important to me. We're so connected, I just couldn't imagine my life without you in it," he blurted out breathlessly.

She hugged him close to her again, knowing she would never forget this day as long as she lived.

* * *

A/N: So, I have about a thousand views on this story, but only 10 reviews? Does that mean most of you hated it? Do you think we could get to 25 with this chapter, please? Next chapter happens around Road Trips & Reunions...so review and I will update more quickly.


	3. you can come to me

A/N: Thanks for being patient with me! This chapter takes place a little after _Road Trips & Reunions_, one year later. Since they never addressed the fact that Auslly didn't get together after Ally joined Austin on tour, I thought I'd do a take to try and explain why that didn't happen (although it should have). This is the last cannon chapter, and it's my birthday this week, so leave some reviews, they make good presents :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing, not the show, not the book, not the characters, not the songs. This story is loosely based on the novel One Day, by David Nicholls. The title of the story is from David Gray's song, This Year's Love. Song credit to Rihanna.

Rating: T for the potential for language in future chapters

* * *

**This Year's Love**

3: you can come to me

___Not really sure how to feel about it_  
_Something in the way you move_  
_Makes me feel like I can't live without you_  
_It takes me all the way, I want you to stay _

-Stay, Rihanna

June 28, 2013

Ally was exhausted. She had literally been across the country and then some in the past three days, and she was practically dead on her feet. Why had she put herself through this again?

Oh yeah, Austin.

Looking over to her right to see the blonde boy tuning his guitar made the exhaustion all worth it. Her life back home had been so different without him, in a bad way, even though he had only been gone for a few months. She needed him around. She missed him terribly.

Ally was so glad she had the opportunity to see him by using the plane tickets he'd given her, but…she was beginning to regret her decision to stay on tour with him, the doubts creeping in and taking up residence in her brain. She had so much work to do on her own music. Her own career. She hadn't finished the songs. She had only recorded two cuts, and in her opinion they weren't very good. What she was doing by coming out here was running away from her writer's block, her problems; she was fully aware of that. She had even left Kira, who had ironically become a good friend, to cover Sonic Boom with her dad!

It was totally irresponsible. She was using Austin's plane tickets to run away from her reality, but it was catching up to her and she couldn't avoid it forever.

She didn't want to be a failure.

Watching Austin perform the past few nights had been incredible. She had a front row seat to see him, as always, but there was a thought that nagged at her. She wanted to be up on that stage performing, and she was putting her opportunity to do that in jeopardy by coming out here to visit him.

As if he were able to read her mind he stated, "I'm so glad you decided to stay on tour with me." He plopped himself beside her on the bench at the back of the bus.

"Me too. I'm so proud of you, Austin. Seeing you up on stage last night, you were incredible. I am so happy I'm here for the ride, seeing you on your very first national tour. I always knew you could do it."

"Because of you. I wouldn't be anywhere without you."

She smiled wistfully. She was risking a lot coming out here to be on tour with him and even more by staying. She had asked for another extension knowing that Ronnie Ramone wasn't going to be happy with her. No songs, no tracks. Nothing to show Ronnie. He wouldn't be pleased that his latest signee hadn't accomplished anything over the past two months, and judging on what she knew of him, he would be pretty vocal about it. He would be even more angry if he knew she was utilizing her time by writing more songs with Austin, for Austin. She could try and postpone things again, but there would come a time when he would just cut her off. He wasn't a man known for his patience.

She wanted this record contract so badly, but it was a lot harder than she had imagined. Austin made it look easy, but he was a natural star. She was finding it a bit more difficult to meet these deadlines without someone like her pushing her and providing songs. She was the one who was supposed to provide the songs. That was the problem.

She started to play out a melody, but scrapped it. Nothing sounded right! Nothing had in a long time, which scared her. She couldn't admit to Austin that she hadn't written anything since he had been gone. She had needed her goose.

He interrupted her thoughts again, "Are we going to talk about what this all means?"

"All this?" she questioned.

"You coming out here to meet up. It means something, right?"

She sighed, not wanting to address the topic, "Well it means I care about you Austin, and I missed you. You know that. I'm going to get some air before we leave." She knew what he was getting at, and she couldn't even think about that right now. She did not need this added pressure. She slipped off the bus before he could protest, keeping as quiet as she could as to not wake Trish and Dez, who were already soundly sleeping.

She paced back and forth in front of the bus, watching the roadies load up Austin's trucks with the rigs and lightning and instruments. There were a lot of people who played a part in his success, including herself. She had to remind herself of that. She wandered out beyond the bus area to the front of the building. There were a few stragglers on the street, stumbling around, but it was fairly empty. She didn't imagine that Salt Lake would be that bustling at night, especially not when compared to Seattle, the city they'd just left the other day.

Austin turned the corner to catch up to her. "Why do we always have to avoid the subject? We both know there's something between us. There always has been."

"I know, Austin, but it's complicated. I missed you so much, but it was so hard before with just your schedule and your career to think about. Now there's both of our careers."

"But what is all this worth if I can't be with the person I want to be with. Ally, I want to be with you. That's why I gave you the plane tickets. I wanted you here so badly. And now you're here, that has to mean something."

Yeah, it meant something. It meant that she was sacrificing her career for his. And she knew it. If she stayed with Austin, she would surely get in trouble with her label. Alternately, if she left him, she might lose him. There was no winning in this situation. She would end up losing something important to her, every time.

"Austin," she sighed, shaking her head.

"Ally. What are you afraid of?" he placed his hand delicately on her cheek.

She closed her eyes. "I care about you Austin. You know that. But let's say we did start dating again. I hated how awkward we were, how different we were acting. We couldn't even be ourselves around each other. We couldn't even be honest with one another. I don't want that."

"It doesn't have to be that way," he countered.

"It's not just that. I'm afraid I won't be successful, Austin. I want this record deal to work out so badly. I've wanted this for so long, but I couldn't do it because of my stage fright. Now that I'm finally over my fear, and my career is going in the right direction, I need to focus on it. I don't want to have too much on my plate, it's already hard enough as it is."

"I can help you! I have a lot of experience with this."

"Thanks, Austin, but it's not the same. You're more natural at this, you don't understand."

"Make me understand, Ally," he pleaded. "I want to do this with you. We did this together for me, I want to be there for you every step of the way."

"But you can't be. You're on tour, and I'm here with you, but there will be a time when we'll have to take separate paths. I'm already not supposed to be here. This summer was supposed to be our trial run on how we could get along without each other."

"It didn't work."

"I know. But it has to. It's just inevitable. My record company already doesn't want me to be as involved in your songwriting. And you're going to be going on more tours in the future, probably even out of the country. I can't follow you everywhere. I'm starting to think I should just go back to Miami."

Austin internally panicked. Not yet. She couldn't leave yet. "Ally, please, you're already here. Finish out the tour with me, you've already talked to the record label, you've already asked them for more time. You can't go back again, they'll hate the way you're changing your mind and they'll be more pissed. We'll help you write your songs here, I promise. Just stay with me. I want you here with me. And I want to be with you. I want us to try being a couple again."

He said it. He put it out there. And by the look on her face, he knew he would end this night alone and disappointed.

"Austin, it's not a good idea," she shook her head and starting walking back to the bus.

"Why not?" he whined, not understanding why this was so hard. He strode towards her, catching up in two steps. Her legs were shorter than his, he at least had that advantage.

"It's different to want something than to actually be able to carry it out. Both of our careers are taking off right now, we're not going to have a lot of time as it is. I'm really stressed out with this whole recording business, and I don't want there to be any weirdness which there will be." She felt like a broken record, but repetition was the only way to get through to him sometimes.

"You don't know that," he argued.

"I DO know that from experience. I care about you, Austin. You know that. And I know you would be supportive, but our songwriting was so awful when we were together. We couldn't even be upfront with one another. It was so uncomfortable. I don't want that, not with you. I want to always be comfortable around you, feel like I can be myself and tell you anything."

"I want that, too," he insisted.

"I just don't think we're mature enough for a personal relationship to not affect our professional relationship. Things would get complicated and I can't risk losing you. I need you to be my friend, I need you to be there for me, and I'm afraid if we start something, that'll change. And I can't take it if it does. I love spending time with you. I love that we can tell each other everything. I need that to stay the same, I need us to be the same."

She intently stared into his eyes until he had to break and look away. He knew he wasn't going to win this battle. She had it set that this was what she wanted, and she wasn't going to change her mind. He hated this. He knew they could do it. He was positive they could make it work. He opened his mouth to protest more, but she carried on.

"And then there's the whole complicated business with your fans. They freaked out already seeing me tonight, what'll happen if it gets out that we're dating. They'll flip."

"Who cares if they do? I want to be honest with my fans. My fans accept me for who I am and they should accept whomever I want to date."

"They should, but they won't. The negative impact of this all could affect both you and me. I don't need a hate brigade against me just as I release my music. I'll already be under enough scrutiny as it is. And I don't want to be the artist known as Austin Moon's girlfriend."

"You wouldn't be," he insisted.

"Yes, I would. That's how they referred to me in Cheetah Beat. I need to be known as Ally Dawson, my own entity, as a performer. I need to forge my own path right now. You understand, right?" she tried to be gentle, but she felt like a terrible person. And she couldn't shake the fact that she felt like she was making a mistake.

"Yeah, you see me as a potential roadblock to your success," he stated, his tone full of hurt.

"That's not true, Austin. I just need to find my own musical identity right now, I need some time to be myself now that I've stepped out on my own. I'm sorry."

"There's one girl in my life and that's you. Ally, I meant what I said in that letter. I really did."

She thought back to the note he gave her just as he was getting on that bus. She had memorized the thing, having read it every day while he was gone. It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her.

"I know you meant it. And I hope that you know how much you mean to me. But, I can't be with you right now, Austin. I'm sorry. Don't hate me."

"I don't hate you. I could never."

"Well, you're right about the label probably hating it if I changed my mind again, so I'm going to stay on tour with you and just try to experience as much as possible. That way when we get back to Miami, I can start fresh."

He snickered, "You're too practical, Ally Dawson. It's what I like about you most. Because I'm not, and you are, and we fit."

She rested her head on his shoulder as he rubbed small circles on her back as they got back on the bus. He wasn't mad. He knew this was going to be her answer all along. He also knew he would wait for her until she changed her mind. It would be difficult because he knew that he would have competition and that he'd have to bite his tongue through boyfriends and breakups. He would support her through good times and hard times, but he would be there. It might be a week, it might be a year, it might be ten, but he would wait for her because he was in love with her and nothing was going to change that.

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A/N: Reviews honestly are the only way I know if people are interested in this story, so please leave one. It'll make me happy, and if I'm happy maybe the characters will be too?


	4. timeless

A/N: Here's the next chapter, we're starting the future from this point, and this chapter is very inspired by the first chapter in One Day. It's a little short, but it's sweet, so hopefully you'll still like it. Thanks for all the reviews and birthday wishes, you are all awesome for reading!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, not the show, not the book, not the characters, not the songs. This story is loosely based on the novel One Day, by David Nicholls. The title of the story is from David Gray's song, This Year's Love. Song credits to Ross Lynch/Disney.

Rating: T for the potential for language in future chapters

* * *

**This Year's Love**

4: Timeless

_This love is never gonna fade_  
_We are timeless_  
_My heart will never ever change_  
_We are timeless_  
_We are timeless_  
_-Timeless, "Austin Moon"_

June 28, 2014

They had danced around flirtations for the past three years, even having tried to date at one point. That had been a disaster, but despite that fact, there were still feelings just under the surface, always threatening to bubble over.

That was a lifetime ago. Austin and Ally had always blamed their careers on why they couldn't be with one another, but now that they were heading in different directions, there were no more excuses.

This is how they found each other lying in each other's arms in her cramped twin bed, half-naked after a night of one two many celebratory drinks and hushed kisses and whispered secrets. Their little hook-up (could they even call it that, nothing more happened than some tentative groping and kissing?) was more laughs than seduction and she wouldn't have had it any other way. It was a fun last night to remember between friends, nothing more, nothing less.

"So try not to forget about me too quickly once you move out to LA."

He kicked her bare leg with his own, his leg hairs tickling her skin. "You can still come out there. It's not too late."

"Except that I'm going to Columbia, which is not in LA."

He sulked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Correspondence courses? Internet?" She shot him a look. "Fine, be that way, move to New York. Boring city anyway."

"It probably will be without you, Trish and Dez. Promise you won't forget me," she reminded again.

"Well don't be silly, I could never forget about you. You know that. We'll talk everyday anyway," he promised.

"Please, Austin. You're going to be traveling so much, what with the tour starting up again. There won't be any time, and there will be a time difference everywhere you go."

"I mean it! We'll keep in touch, Al. We have to, you mean too much to me. Plus, you're going to be the one who's too busy for me, what with your keg parties and term papers."

"We have got to stop learning about things from movies."

"Seriously though, I wish I could see you, Ally Dawson, college freshman, taking over. First comes New York, then comes the world. You're going to kill it out there."

She smirked, still a little drunk from their night wrapped up in each other. She wanted to believe everything he was saying, and nothing that she was thinking.

And of course she was over thinking everything. She pictured scenarios in which her three friends found fame and fortune without her, forgetting their old partner in the process. She could just picture them all frolicking on the beach or stuck in traffic or whatever it was that people in LA did. Admittedly, she didn't know much about Los Angeles. She was sorry she wouldn't get to find out.

Was she making the right decision to leave everyone and go to college in New York? Of course she was. This had been her dream. She truly believed in the value of education, and now that all this stuff was going down with her record deal, she didn't want to feel like a fourth wheel with Austin and the team anyway. She would just miss them. She would miss him most of all.

She looked over at him, the rays of light peeking through her blinds, casting horizontal shadows on his face. His eyes were closed, trying to hold onto any last vestiges of sleep, although they hadn't done much of that overnight. His eyes fluttered before they opened to stare right at her awaiting face.

He would miss seeing her most of all. He didn't even want to think about a future in which he couldn't just go over to Sonic Boom or her house to see that face. He'd even miss the admonishing and stern looks she always gave him when he suggested something dumb or played into one of Dez's crazy schemes. He'd miss all of her.

He knew she was thinking hard. She always got that look on her face, with the scrunched up nose, a little smattering of freckles meeting together in the midline. He'd spent the night memorizing what he could about her, so that he could keep her with him wherever he went. She was so pretty and smart and now he could add sexy to the neverending list of adjectives that could describe her. There was a softness about her, a quality about her that demanded she be treated delicately. And he had tried to achieve that with their last night together, he hope he succeeded.

"Can I ask you something serious?" she spoke.

"Depends," he responded, staring up at the ceiling. He turned to her, careful to not crush her.

"What do you want to be in 10 years?"

He wanted to answer earnestly. He wanted to tell her that he wanted to be with her, in a house, possibly with a family. Definitely with a dog. They'd have a dog. He didn't want to scare her off though. Last night was perfection and he didn't want to ruin the moment by coming off insincere, even though he was being absolutely, completely positively honest with himself. He just couldn't be that honest with her. He couldn't be that vulnerable, just in case it didn't mean as much to her. He wouldn't be able to deal with that. He had tried last year on tour and she'd turned him down. Great, now it was his turn to do the overthinking.

"Well, hopefully I'll still be famous and having fun." There was that famous Ally Dawson eye roll. He added that to the bank of Ally looks. "What, do you have a better answer?"

She shrugged, snuggling herself into his chest. "I just want to be happy."

He buried his nose into her hair. Of course she'd come up with something simple and poetic. That's why she was the songwriter. His phone buzzed and he automatically groaned.

"You better go soon. You have to pack still."

"How you do know I haven't packed?" he asked.

"Come on, Austin. I know you." She peered up through her lashes as he leaned over the side of the bed, rummaging around for his jeans. With the sun shining through her window again, hitting the rippled muscles of his back just so, she was sure she had never seen anything so beautiful. He was so handsome, with his pouty lips and his bright hazel eyes, and he had been hers for one night. It was silly, they hadn't even gone "all the way," but it was enough for her. She felt special just being in his presence, having him pay that kind of attention to her, that it almost felt more important that they hadn't gone that far. It meant something to her; it represented possibility and intimacy, and it represented the fact that she was indisputably in love with Austin Moon.

He had been a boy when they'd met, all jokes and laughs, and even in the short time they'd known each other, she'd watched him grow into a man, right underneath her nose. He carried himself differently now, with more confidence and swagger. She was so proud of who he was, and she couldn't wait to see where he was going. He was going to make it big, she knew it. It still made her a little sad to think that she wasn't going to be there to witness the meteoric rise in person, but she supported him with every part of her being. But that didn't mean she was going to say anything about her feelings on the eve of them leaving. She didn't want to ruin the spontaneity of the moment. They would just leave things as they were, no pressure.

"This is why I need you around, you keep me in check, Ally Dawson. What am I going to do without you?" He slid on his pants, covering up the boxers with the little trucks on them that just hung perfectly off those pelvic bones. He needed to leave soon before she did something embarrassing. She jumped up off the bed, adjusting her rumpled skirt, buttoning up her blouse. She gave him a hug, her small hands wrapped around him like a vice.

"You're going to become a big star, Austin."

He bent down and touched his cheek to hers, both a little self-conscious of their morning breath and more self-conscious of looking each other in the eye without tearing up.

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A/N: don't forget to leave a review!


	5. redial

A/N: Sorry it's been a little while, but life and work has been busy. Thanks to everyone who always reads and leaves reviews, you are the best! Next chapter is going to be a long, possibly dramatic one, so enjoy this one won't you?

Disclaimer: I own nothing, not the show, not the book, not the characters, not the songs. This story is loosely based on the novel One Day, by David Nicholls. The title of the story is from David Gray's song, This Year's Love. Song credits to Laura Marano/Disney.

Rating: T for language

* * *

**This Year's Love**

5: Redial

_Who do I call?_  
_When I need to hear hello_  
_Let me go on_  
_Although you've heard it all before_  
_Who do I call to make me smile?_  
_I'll wait a while, and redial_

_-Redial, "Ally Dawson"_

June 28, 2015

"Ciao Bella! Just calling to check in with you. Happy Anniversary. We're counting this as our anniversary, right? I'm currently about to board a plane to Italy. Be jealous. I was hoping I'd catch you before you went out, but I guess I'll try again later? You have a date tonight, right? Well, don't do anything I wouldn't do…haha, I know what you're thinking, there's nothing I wouldn't do. But, uh, seriously, be good. Well, I'll call you when we get there…Arrivederci!"

Ally threw her bag onto the couch, seeing its contents spill out all over the floor.

Damn it.

Oh well, she did not have the time. She had ran the twenty odd blocks home so that she could get ready for her date, for which she was about to be really late. She had been having the worst day ever, having taken several final exams and feeling like she had failed them all. Her shift had gone way over at the bookstore where she worked part time, and now she looked like a total mess. And she really liked this guy. Rarely did a guy even make it past the first date, but this was their third and she felt really good about it. Like, really good. Like, good enough to shave her legs good.

But of course, now she had missed Austin's call. She did the math quickly in her head, he'd be arriving in Rome in a few hours. She had been meaning to call him, but she had been so busy this week with studying and trying to secure her internship for the summer that she completely forgot it was their anniversary. It had been weeks since they were able to exchange messages, and she wanted to at least wish him good luck on his first European tour.

She was proud of him. They'd gone their separate ways, unsure of how things would work out without her being his songwriter, but he was thriving. In the past year, he'd played sold out clubs all over the country, his star really rising. She always knew that would happen. There definitely was a way he could make it without her, and he was doing it.

She wasn't bitter or jealous though. She was living a dream of hers, moving to New York, going to school at Columbia and now she was about to intern at a major record label. She would learn the inside out of the business and she couldn't be more excited. She felt like she was on the verge of something great as well.

The only problem with their successes was that they didn't really get to see each other much or talk to each other much anymore. She really hoped they wouldn't lose touch as he had promised, but it was becoming harder and harder. She hadn't even seen him in four months. He played a show in New York, and she had barely seen him then. It was even worse now that Trish and Dez had joined him out in LA because she had to hear all about Austin's adventures through all three of their social media outlets. He had a whole new team around him, and she wasn't a part of now. It was sad, but it was the natural course of life. He was busy now, the celebrity lifestyle kicking into full gear. The worst was seeing his conveyor belt of women that he went through. Austin was very popular amongst the ladies, and even more popular with the paparazzi who loved to take pictures of him with the girl of the week. Typical.

She could have been one of those girls, having that almost-but-not-quite night with him. She smiled as she remembered. She couldn't believe it had been a year ago. It felt like a lifetime ago. His hair, without its gel, falling into his face as they just stared at each other from their respective sides of the pillow on her tiny little childhood bed. The way his huge hands engulfed her face as they kissed timidly, then moving down to carefully slide underneath her shirt. Even the thought of it made her blush still. That night had been so special and it was all theirs. She couldn't regret anything that happened. It was yet another thing they shared, tying them together for life. She was glad for that.

"You seem really nervous. Are you okay?" Brad, her date asked, staring at her intently.

She looked up at him, totally caught in the headlights. "I do?"

"You keep checking your phone every two minutes. You waiting for something?"

She sighed. "I'm sorry, I'll turn it off. That's so rude of me."

"It's okay, really. I just want to make sure everything's okay."

"Yeah, I missed a call from my best friend earlier. He was heading to Italy, so just expecting him to call any time."

"Oh, well you can keep checking, it's important."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks, it's just, I haven't been able to talk to Austin in a few weeks, and it's kind of a tradition that we talk before we go out of the country, and so it kind of makes me a little nervous that we didn't get to do it. It's a little OCD, I know."

"It's okay. So, you mentioned him the other night, but remind me again?"

"Oh, well he's a pop star, actually, we used to be partners. We met when we were like 15 and I wrote most of his songs. He got this huge recording contract, and now he's touring all over."

"Really? That's awesome. What's his name?"

"Austin Moon. He's pretty big amongst teenage girls."

"Well that explains why I don't know him," he joked. Brad had a nice, easy smile, one where he smiled a lot with his eyes. Ally liked that.

"Yeah, he's actually opened for some pretty big acts."

"What, so you don't work together anymore?"

"Well, actually, I got an opportunity to cut a record myself, but it didn't really quite work out, and I ended up getting scrapped, so I decided to go to college instead. He decided to continue to pursue the music thing, so he moved to LA."

"You must miss him."

"Yeah, well we were best friends and when we worked together, my life literally revolved around his career." Her phone beeped, signaling a text. She jumped immediately to read it, but it was only from Trish checking on the date's status. Her eyes flickered to Brad, who was now scrolling through his own phone looking a little bored. He was totally losing interest, and it was all her fault that this date wasn't going as planned. It wasn't very fair that she was spending all this time waiting for Austin and then rambling about him. It was rather unhealthy to be so wrapped up in everything Austin still, even when he lived clear across the country. There was still time to salvage this night though, turn things around.

"Was it him?" he asked, barely glancing upwards from his own phone.

"No, false alarm. But forget about that. Let's talk about something else." She grabbed him hand, and his attention with that one intimate gesture. She then paid her full attention to him, leaning slightly forward, going into full Ally flirtation mode. She'd picked up a few tricks here and there, college had done wonders for her seduction skills. He hadn't ran for the hills after hearing about Austin, and that had to be a good sign, right? Most guys weren't thrilled at the prospect of sharing their dates with a famous popstar best friend. Most guys weren't that confident. Brad was and Ally appreciated that.

"That's so cool you had a record deal at some point. You'll have to sing for me some time."

"That can be arranged, I think," she giggled.

They laughed so hard at joke after joke, this guy having so many great puns and one-liners that she didn't even hear her phone vibrate from her bag alerting her that Austin had arrived safely.

He let the call ring and ring, but she didn't pick up. He threw down his phone petulantly like a child. Where was she? She'd missed two of his calls, and usually she picked up on like the first ring. Dez looked up at him with mild concern, but then went back to editing on his iPad. He was pretty used to this Austin, drunk Austin. To be honest, he was more than a little drunk. European airlines were the best because they just let the booze flow freely. That and he was a young, good-looking, famous popstar. _That_ didn't hurt.

Plus the stewardess had taken quite a liking to him, and had brought more drinks each time she had stopped to flirt with him…which was a lot. He blearily stared out at the bustling city center as the taxi rolled through the streets of Rome. There was an incredible juxtaposition of ancient and modern times. He wished he knew something about history or the names of the famous structures. He knew one brunette who would have been able to help him out with that. Ally would have loved this.

Ally.

He could just see her excitedly pointing out all the areas of interest, spouting off arcane factoids about some old dead guy or another. She had so much enthusiasm for that stuff, for everything really. He just missed her so much. It had been a year since they went their separate ways, moving to opposite coasts, and every day was a little harder for him, even though the way he lived now, no one would be able to tell. All of the partying, all the girls, all the wasted paparazzi pictures, those were just superficial pursuits to fill his time. The reality was that his life just wasn't complete without her in it.

It had been three years since that first day they met and he couldn't imagine how his life would have ended up if he hadn't played those stupid corndogs on the drums that day. All of his successes were because of her.

And now all of these accolades and milestones were not the same without her beside him. Regardless of the career stuff, he missed her in a different way. He was in love with that girl. He knew it long before she did, even though he didn't admit it to himself until after. He thought of that night, the best night of his life. He should have stayed with her a little longer. He should have been more insistent that she move out to LA, but he didn't want to squash her dreams. It had been difficult for her to lose her record contract, and he knew that being around him was hard for her to deal with, even though she was the least jealous person in the world. She was happy for him, but she needed time for herself. He understood that.

A year was probably enough time for that though. He vowed, when he returned from this trip, the first time he saw her face to face, he would confess his feelings for her. He was tired of playing this stupid game, blaming all this other bullshit in their lives. No more excuses, he wanted to be with her, and he was going to tell her exactly how he felt about her. How deeply enamored with her he was, and he hoped she'd feel the same way, too.

Dez had his camera out and was filming everything, and Austin couldn't wait to show it to her. Italy. Who'd have ever thought he would be touring Europe? To just have the opportunity to play to so many people was incredible, but to do it overseas was crazy. He wished his whole team could have been there, he wished he could have flown Ally and Trish out to see it all, but it wasn't possible. He was after all, just the opening act, and it had taken a feat of great lengths to get Dez clearance to come with him. But no matter, he knew this was the start of big things for him. Once he hit the big time, he would make sure they were all together, always.

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A/N: review please!


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